Through These Crimson Eyes
by Nahkriin
Summary: It began while taking the chuunin exam...what lies within those crimson eyes?
1. Prolouge

**Disclaimer – Yeah, so…I don't own Naruto, but that would be pretty freakin' rad if I did. **

**Through These Crimson Eyes **

**_Rated K;Minor Language, but nothing too serious._**

**Prologue**

One, two…

He closed his eyes, allowing the silence around him to encompass all. In doing so, any sound that broke the penetrating silence, however slight…he would pick it up. He magnified his hearing by sending chakra into his ears, in a sense sucking in the sounds of everything around him and thus increasing his hearing by roughly…

"**ITACHI!"**

He grimaced visibly, wincing. That had hurt…a lot. Especially with such magnified hearing… _Baka!_

He lept out of the way as a multitude of Shuriken whizzed past him. Still slightly dazzled, he was barely able to react in time to even _see_ the attack before it closed in on him, but Uchiha Itachi was _fast_, abnormally so, even when in a slight daze. A split-second after noticing the attack, he was already pushing Hikari out of the way…he cursed her mentally. Some ninja she was…this was her third chuunin exam or so, and she didn't even have the sense to employ the basic concepts of istealth/i? There were numerous other ways in which she could have notified him of the attack, if that had indeed been what she had attempted to do, but she should have realized Itachi didn't need her help. He was, in fact, planning an offensive right when she pierced his concentration, revealed their presence to the enemy, and nearly gotten them both killed. Itachi was fine fending for himself, of course, but watching Hikari's back at the same time was difficult. Why did he have to get stuck with her, of all people…?

A few kunai whizzed past him, and Itachi was forced to concede to the enemy's reckless engagement. Instead of running, he might as well take them all out now…

He lept further into the air, landing softly on a tree branch, Hikari on his back. He glanced back, made sure they were safe for the moment, and gently slipped Hikari on to the tree branch.

"Stay right here." He spoke through nearly-clenched teeth, though his face did nothing to betray the anger that was boiling beneath the surface. His voice was cold and indifferent.

She nodded feebly, accepting that she was worthless in his eyes and talentless as a shinobi. Part of her wished that she could go into battle with him as a companion should do, but she knew it was hopeless. Itachi had basically been doing the exam for the both of them…

Itachi was gone in a poof of smoke, leaving Hikari to drown in self-consciousness.

_I can be strong, too…Just wait, Itachi._

"Heh…I guess those two weren't threats, after all. The cowards…well, no sense trying to look for them. I want a fight I can enjoy, not a half-hearted pursuit…Let's get going." The sand-nin began to walk away, his two comrades following suit.

Thee Kunai sped past the three shinobi at such a blinding speed, they were practically invisible until they struck the trees behind the sand-nin and went straight through, hammering themselves into the trees even further behind a second later.

The sand-nin who had previously spoken turned pale, frozen in place. Not only had he not sensed the chakra signature of the attacker, that was no ordinary throw…whoever had sent those kunai hurling at them at those speeds possessed inhuman ability for someone taking part in this exam. And from what he was barely able to make out by the chakra signature which was slowly beginning to make itself apparent, it was isuppressed/i, too, and quite a bit. The attacker was mocking them.

"Who's there!" The sand-nin shouted, breaking through his chain of thought and braving to venture a shout. At first, there was nothing, but a slight rustle of leaves caught his ear. He immediately spun to his right and shot out his fist, which was caught by someone else's hand…with incredible grip. The sand-nin grimaced.

"Let go, you…"

The sand-nin's jaw dropped at the sight of his attacker. The kid couldn't be older than 10…ithis/i was the one who attacked them?

IHis speed, strength…hell, everything about him just doesn't add up…there's no way such a young kid should possess such power. And if he's suppressing that power, even now…I'm way, way out of my league. This kid…/i

"You've been on our trail for quite some time now, I believe. I noticed you right away, but decided to ignore initiating any pointless conflict at the time. I allowed you to believe that I was unaware of your presence…In fact, I was just counting your collective heart beats before my partner so foolishly brought us to a disadvantage. You guys were trying to slow your pulse, trying to make it look like you weren't about to attack. But let me tell you something…"

Itachi leaned in closer to the sand-nin, his head slightly above his shoulder. He smirked, and whispered in his ear,

"You guys really, really suck at hiding yourselves."

The sand-nin growled…this kid was bluffing. And he wasn't about to take this crap from a little pipsqueak like him.

"You arrogant little runt! I'll put you in your place right now…"

He had spun around, managed to free himself from the kid's grip, and launched a fist straightforward, planning to wipe that ignorant smirk off his face…

To find himself stumble as he realized there was nothing there.

"You call yourself a ninja?"

_What the hell…! What happened!_

He found himself on the ground, his arms crossed behind his back, face in the dirt. The kid had his foot pressing down on his back, pinning him to the ground. But he was also standing right in front of him, grinning.

_Shadow Clone…? But that's a jounin level technique…_

_Where the hell are Kan and Oroki! _He yelled mentally, cursing his two comrades. The cowards had probably got scared and ran away…

His blood froze. Behind the kid standing right in front of him, the two bodies of his team-mates…well, former team-mates, now…lay severed in half, blank looks on their faces. They hadn't even seen their own death coming before it happened…and neither had he.

_This is so wrong…this kid killed them without a sound! Did he do it while his shadow clone pinned me to the ground! Impossible! _

Being able to react that fast…it was unreal. Why was this kid taking the Chuunin Exam? He was far stronger than that…

The sand-nin was shaking now, and he risked looking up into the kid's eyes…to find himself staring at what seemed to him to be a demon.

_S-sharingan! _He thought, as panic overtook him. An Uchiha…and he had already mastered the sharingan eyes, at such a young age!

"Fool. Your container's just an empty shell now, isn't it?"

Looking into those eyes, the sand-nin lost himself in the murder that raged within those crimson sharingan…

_W-why?_

He didn't even know he was already dead.

Hikari had been waiting for about five minutes, lost in thought…Suddenly, she jumped. Itachi was back, standing above her, looking down with…it was impossible to judge what he was feeling. He was cool and unreadable, as always.

"You are weak."

Though she expected to hear something like this, it still hurt her. Telling herself wasn't so bad, but to hear someone else say it so blatantly…

"I-itachi-kun…" She stuttered, tripping over her words. Itachi glared down at her. Now, it was easy to tell he was angry.

"Don't call me that. I am in no way your friend, companion, or whatever it is you think I am to you. You are a disgrace, and I am disappointed to have had been unfortunate enough to get stuck taking this exam with you…I prefer to work alone. If you absolutely must talk to me, do so now while I still hold a small ounce of patience over you, or just shut up now and save yourself the humiliation."

Hikari froze. She was trembling. Not only had his words struck like lightning bolts, but he seemed to have instilled a deep, foreboding sense of fear within her heart. She felt his anger, she could fell his intent…to kill? No, that couldn't be right…could it? I mean, he could deffinately pass this test alone without breaking a sweat, after all. But would he really go far enough to…?

"Oh, look…it's getting dark." Itachi spoke softly, breaking the silence and bringing her out of the haze that was her thoughts, looking out at the night sky.

"Y-yeah…" She muttered in response, barely able to form the word in her mouth. Her tongue felt dry.

"You know, I don't really sleep at night…I don't really sleep at all."

Hikari paused to ponder the meaning behind his words. Why tell her this…why now? She had noticed the signs of insomnia…the tiredness in his eyes, the lines on his face…

She gasped. Itachi turned back to her, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Itachi, what are you…"

He was by her side midsentence, glaring into her soft, blue eyes, his sharingan penetrating like a knife to the heart.

"And tonight, neither will you…"

She felt so…cold.

What was this?

"You were nothing but a hindrance, a thorn in my side. Why are you weak, Hikari? Breaching the confines of your soul, reaching down into the chambers of your core, you should grasp this truth and relish in it's darkness…thrive in the darkness, Hikari. Weep, shout, scream…writhe in the agony of what you lack, Hikari."

_What the hell! What's with this guy… _Though she was more afraid than she had ever been in her life, as those inhuman, crimson eyes penetrated her very soul.

"What is it you lack, Hikari? Through these crimson eyes, grasp the truth…"

And she uttered something she couldn't comprehend herself, as the light left her eyes and her body went instantly numb.

Itachi looked into her eyes once more, before closing them.

"You were nothing but a hindrance."

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And there you have it! The prologue to my first Itachi fanfic series, "Through These Crimson Eyes"! I hope you enjoyed it! Please rate and review. If it seems a little off, I'll try to make future chapters better. This is my first time writing Naruto Fanfiction. :P

Please rate and review!


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer – Naw, I don't own Naruto…some of the characters in the story may be manifestations of my imagination, but for the most part, nope. ITACHI RULES!**

_**Rated K For general audiences**_

**Through These Crimson Eyes**

**Chapter One – Passing the Exam**

Uchiha Itachi was probably the only one present who possessed no significant injuries and/or had been ruffed up enough in the second part of the exam to be noticed right off the bat. Those around him were a lot worse off than he was, and some had some pretty nasty left-overs from the pain of the second exam. One kid practically lost an arm, it looked like. Itachi regarded it all in silence, not really caring one way or another.

His father's voice kept drifting into his thoughts, reminding him what his purpose was here. His purpose was to pass this test with top marks, thus bringing further glory to the already glorious Uchiha Clan, of which he was "an honor to be representing in these exams", as quoted by his father.

He mentally seethed. He was tired of always being the one looked upon as a prodigy, the genius of the Uchiha Clan. There were those out there stronger than him, still…why didn't everyone just go flocking to them instead? What made him so special?

He clenched his fists.

Yes…there were those out there stronger than him.

"Allright…first off, I would like to take the opportunity in congratulating each and every one of you in coming this far. You've endured days stuck in the forest of death, surrounded by…"

Itachi tuned out the proctor, not really caring to listen. He already knew what he was going to say anyways. Overcoming obstacles…please. Itachi growled inwardly…if the second exam had been an obstacle in which he had been hard-pressed to overcome, he was dreadfully disappointed. He could only hope that from this point on, things would get a lot more interesting…

The first exam had been so easy it had almost tempted him to quit right there. He wasn't one to waste his ability on something so pathetic…with his sharingan eyes, which he had mastered two years prior to ever taking the exam, it had proved an easy task to simply copy other's answers…and he hadn't even been caught, nor seemed to be looked upon with suspicion by any of the jounin elite whom had kept an eye out for cheaters…he clenched his fists again, his knuckles popping. Was it simply because he was an Uchiha? If nothing else, he despised being given special treatment. He hadn't made too much of an effort to conceal what he was doing, and he was sure that they had noticed it.

"…Uchiha Itachi?" The proctor repeated, and Itachi realized he had been trying to get his attention for some time now. He met the proctor's gaze, confirming his attention and wordlessly urged him to continue.

"Omano Hikari…the girl who had been assigned to your two-man team. Did she fall behind? If so, when can we expect…"

"She didn't make it." Itachi interrupted, without a hint of emotion. The proctor seemed taken aback for a moment, as if he was shocked at the kid's lack of compassion for his companion.

_Not that I care…she wasn't even a companion, really. When did she ever help? _

"Um…" The proctor began, scratching the back of his hair.

"Well, Okay than." He continued. "In that case, the number of possible candidates for chuunin is narrowed down slightly…bringing it down to a total of 8."

8 Chuunin, hm? Itachi quickly counted the number of participants, scanning the room. 25, excluding Hikari. He smirked. Well…it would seem as though the next test would actually be a real test, if the numbers were so low.

"Before we begin the third and final portion of the chuunin selection exams, we will perform preliminary matches to bring the amount of possible chuunin even lower."

Itachi grinned. Yes, he understood the logic behind this. The other genin mumbled and groaned…this was probably not what they had been expecting.

"On top of that, uh…" The proctor continued, scratching the back of his head again. "We will begin immediately."

Some genin began to shout, others stormed off angrily. Itachi merely regarded them all in silent contemplation.

He was actually finding himself to be quite eager. He scanned the room again, trying to get a sense of the relative strength of the other ninja present…

Besides the proctor, the jounin, and the other elite ninja who were watching over the exam, no one else seemed particularly noticeable. Most were to weak to even register anywhere close to Itachi's level…

However, there were a few exceptions…a team consisting of three ninja whom he could not currently recognize, as they had apparently hidden their headbands under some article of clothing or taken them off, for whatever reason.

The three radiated a sense of power, raw and brutal, though on the outside they appeared half as cool and collected as Itachi himself, and that was saying something. Itachi's interest was piqued. These three definitely had a lot of power…nothing like the other genin here. They also seemed to be contemplating the situation as Itachi was doing, approaching things from an intellectual level rather than acting brashly and throwing a fit like the others were doing. Itachi couldn't help but smile, ever so softly.

Maybe this test wouldn't be as bad as he had previously thought.

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And there's chapter one! Shorter than the prologue, I know, but I'll make up for it with chapter 2!

Please R&R!


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer – Nope, don't own Naruto.**

_**Rated K**_

**Through These Crimson Eyes**

**Chapter Two – The Prelims**

"None of them seem to be of any interest…" The blonde-haired shinobi whispered to his two team-mates, stealing glances at the ninja around them.

"Except for…"

"Yeah, I know." The blue-haired nin responded before the blonde managed to finish. The third, whom had spiky, red hair, nodded.

"Uchiha…Itachi. Hmm. This is going to be a lot more…_challenging _than any of us had hoped for."

"So…he possesses sharingan. Will he be too much?"

The red-haired ninja remained silent, but looked at the blonde from the corner of his eye, waiting.

"…There's no definite way to be sure, not yet at least…but according to my own personal research, he is a prodigy, even in a clan as gifted as Uchiha. No doubt he could beat anyone here, besides ourselves, of course, easily."

"Hmm. Interesting indeed." The blue-haired ninja nodded. He remained silent for a moment.

"Is he…really that strong? I mean, no doubt this year's crop of genin isn't exactly the most promising to date, but still…"

"Oh. Yeah…in fact, I'm probably underestimating him." The blonde replied, his eyes hardening as he turned his gaze toward Itachi. He didn't seem to notice, or otherwise didn't care. He remained as expressionless as ever, staring off into space.

"He could have qualified as a chuunin two years ago…maybe even while he was still in the academy. This kid graduated with perfect marks after half a year, and went on to master sharingan afterwards. He's definitely something, allright."

"Okay, listen up." The blonde turned his attention to his two comrades, he were immediately alert.

"Zakin." He said, catching the blue-haired ninja's attention.

"You go on ahead and carry out phase one. When you've achieved proper status, contact us via a slight twitch in your chakra signature, got it?"

He nodded, vanishing behind a cloud of smoke.

"Arami…" He said a little quieter, turning to face the red-haired ninja.

He didn't respond, but he knew his leader by now, and knew that he had Arami's attention.

"Since your chakra far outstrips either of ours, you're going to proceed with the matter of phase two…you'll be the first one up in the prelims, and there's a high chance you'll be chosen to fight against the Uchiha kid this way. They say that computer picks matches at random, but…"

Arami nodded, and he took that as a confirmation that he understood.

"What about you, Harachi?" He asked, catching the blonde slightly by surprise. He wasn't used to hearing Arami talk all that much. The guy was practically a mute.

"Oh, I think you know where I fall in here." He said, then vanished.

Arami simply stood there, staring at the wall on the other side of the room.

_That one seems to have the most chakra… _Itachi stared across the room at the red-haired ninja, who was at this time alone.

_But there's something else about him, something that just doesn't fit._

The proctor clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. Itachi snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the proctor.

"Allright…you've had the brief respite I talked about earlier…"

So _that's _why everyone had been standing around doing nothing. Itachi hadn't listened to what the proctor had said before, so he had been rather impatiently waiting.

"Now, our first match up…if there are those who wish to forfeit, please step outside now. A jounin will help lead you back to the village."

A couple people left. When it was certain that no one else was planning on leaving anytime soon, the proctor nodded and continued.

"Now then…we've made some modifications to the computer system, so that instead of choosing fights at random, it will set up matches in such a way that the opponents should be even. This way, we know the strengths and capabilities of a certain person of a certain level compared to a different person of a completely different level. Instead of narrowing down the best of the best, this year we're aiming to take a more fair approach…somewhat."

Itachi mentally scowled. That was stupid.

"So anyways…without further ado, the preliminaries shall now begin!"

He waved his arm, and the computer flashed to life and names began to flash across the screen in an indistinct blur. Itachi wasn't paying any attention to who was chosen, because he knew it would not be him. Not yet.

He had a feeling he knew who he was going to fight. He glanced at the red-haired ninja, who remained planted in the same position, staring off into space.

"Saraka Hyu Versus Ichimo Kurosaki…"

The first match of the preliminaries caused Itachi to stew in impatience. They had to be starting at the lowest level ninja and building their way up, it seemed…these two were incredibly weak.

Saraka Hyu seemed more concerned about her opponent (and the condition of her attire, as lacking as it was…she wore the traditional translucent, webbed undershirt of kunoichi, but most covered themselves with a vest, at least…) than she did herself, much to Itachi's disgust and irritation.

"Ichimo-Chan!" The girl squeeled, jumping up and down. Many of the other boys seemed to be intently staring at her…one kid who was standing next to him actually seemed to be drooling, and he was about to nudge Itachi in the ribcage for some reason before Itachi fixed him with a scathing glare that almost caused the older child to soil himself. Itachi was glad he wasn't at the age in which he would find himself flipped head over heels by a girl because she dressed like a slut. The teenage mind was something that Itachi did not understand, and he doubted very much he would, even when he found himself at that age. The girl…in the name of kami, showing off that much skin and whatnot…first off, her "outfit" didn't offer much in the matter of protection…she risked her life to look appealing to the opposite sex?

Itachi looked away. People like that couldn't be called ninja. What a disgraceful match…

The prelims continued in an uneventful fashion. Itachi found himself gradually growing tired, not due to exhaustion or lack of sleep…but because he was bored out of his mind, by this point. He sighed, looking at the pitiful match-up in front of him (two genin who could hardly even throw a kunai properly) and shook his head in indifference. This was just pathetic.

Finally, the match was over, and the proctor stood up, signaling the choosing of the next match.

The computer whizzed past an assortment of names as it did every time before choosing a match up, and…

UCHIHA ITACHI VERSUS ARAMI KASAGI

_Arami?_

He was in the middle of the ring in an instant, rather eager to fight after so many previous letdowns. He waited patiently for his opponent to arrive…and he was just a little bit startled when the red-haired ninja who he had had his eye on earlier slowly made his way to the ring, staring past Itachi as though he was not there.

_So…that's Arami, hm? He's as strong as I am? This matches are supposed to be even, after all…_

He looked into Arami's eyes. The red-haired ninja still wasn't wearing a forehead protector, and Itachi couldn't help but wonder where the guy had come from.

Arami avoided his gaze for a minute longer, than finally returned, his eyes as unwavering as Itachi's.

"Begin!"

The two were already in mid-air.


	4. Chapter Three

-1**Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto. 'Nuff said.**

_**Rated K+ for some slight graphic content**_

**Through These Crimson Eyes**

**Chapter Three - Sharingan Versus a Demon…?**

The speed in which the two attacked was blinding. Itachi's movements…the kicks, his punches, his dodges, everything was completely fluid. Arami was just as fast, blocking Itachi's first kick and narrowly dodging the fist that came within an inch of his face. The two fought on.

The other participants were impressed, to say the least.

"How did he do that..!" One genin whispered in awe, while the person next to him shrugged.

"I don't know, but I can barely keep up. My money's on the kid with the black hair…they say he's an Uchiha."

His friend gaped in awe.

"So he possesses…"

The blurred sphere of movement that was the battle between Itachi and Arami came to a halt as the two lept away from each other and landed softly on the ground beneath.

_He's fast enough to keep up with me…but he knows I'm not pushing it. And I know he isn't, either…this is going to prove to be quite a challenge. _

The two simply stared at each other for a split second. They both had no sign of injury…they had either blocked or evaded each other's attacks completely.

A quartet of shuriken sped past Arami in a blur, who had seen them coming but did not react. They stuck to the wall behind him, and he risked a glance back…he couldn't be sure about this kid, he might have rigged the shuriken with exploding tags or something.

His momentary distraction was enough for Itachi. Arami reverted his gaze back to Itachi…

Only to find him standing right before his very eyes, glaring back into them with his sharing an activated.

Arami's eyes widened, the first sign of surprise thus far.

"Never turn your back on me." Itachi whispered in a cold, empathetic manner, then swiftly punched him in the gut.

…Itachi jumped backwards right before the flames of the impending explosion engulfed him whole.

He grinned as he landed, while the onlookers were trying their best to figure out what had happened.

_What a guy… _Itachi thought, smirking. He had managed to pull of a substitution jutsu in a split second. Not only that, he had somehow rigged the log with exploding tags. Nice.

"You're good, I'll give you that."

Itachi whirled around and kicked, which was blocked by Arami's forearm. He wasted no time in counterattacking, attempting to twist Itachi off of him and into the arm by grabbing his leg and trying to spin him, but Itachi was one step ahead of him. He lifted himself up off the ground and elbowed Arami in the face, knocking him off of him. Arami looked genuinely surprised, as his nose began to bleed. The crowd was cheering now…which was met by Itachi's cold, angry glare.

_Why cheer…? _Itachi thought in irritation…Arami took this as a distraction and attacked, falling to the ground and trying to get his opponent on the ground via a leg sweep…but the real Itachi was behind him with a kunai above his head in a poof of smoke, as Arami froze in place.

Itachi smirked. Good, but not great.

"This is the end…" He said as he brought the kunai down, though his arm froze before he was able to make contact with his opponent's neck, as he was planning.

…_What? _He thought, looking down at his arm…it seemed frozen in place, shaking. Genjutsu? Impossible…Itachi was almost invulnerable against illusions, being a master of them himself. So, he was stuck in Arami's jutsu, whatever it was…it had to be ninjutsu, though he had never seen something like this. His eyes flashed…

Arami lept away from him while Itachi's arm hovered in the air. The audience was confused…what had happened?

"So…What is it, genjutsu?"

Arami simply stared.

"Thought so…fine." Itachi said, and his arm stopped trembling. Arami's eyes narrowed.

"But I won't fall for something like that twice."

He stooped down to the ground and sprinted off in Arami's direction with blinding speed, determined not to allow his opponent to catch him off-guard again. Arami took a defensive posture, preparing himself for another dazzling round of hand-to-hand combat…

But Itachi hadn't been planning to fight Arami hand-to-hand, this time.

Arami's eyes widened for the second time thus far…Itachi stood before him, eyes closed. He would have done something, but…he found himself frozen in place.

"You don't know a thing about the sharingan, do you? If so…you should have known…"

His eyes flashed opened, those crimson eyes burning into Arami's soul. He shuddered…genjutsu? He wasn't afraid of this kid…that couldn't be it.

But this seemed a lot like…

…_No way!_

He looked down at his outstretched arms, palms open, trembling. He was sweating, the liquid running down his body cold and penetrating…this was _his _jutsu!

"These eyes are rather notorious in that they can copy practically any ninja art…I don't know what you pulled back there, when my arm froze up like that…but now it's mine."

Itachi smirked, but his grin faded a moment later. What was…

Arami stood before him, and Itachi found himself narrowing his eyes at the new appearance of his opponent…what happened? He didn't seem anything like before…

Itachi was barely able to block the punch, and even so, it strained his body to do so. What immense strength…Arami had grown stronger.

Itachi glared into the red-haired ninja's eyes, his own sharingan meeting the eyes of a demon…

"Whoa…he managed to get Arami transformed already?" The blue-haired Zakin whispered, watching the battle with interest. He had just returned to watch the match, which had already been going on for a while when he arrived, and was startled at what he saw…the kid was that strong?

"Harachi…if things get out of hand, I'm out of here." He whispered, shuddering at the memory of the last time Arami had gotten out of hand.

Harachi grinned and chuckled, watching the battle with amusement.

"Incredible…this kid was definitely worth partaking in these pathetic little exams."

Zakin looked at him from the corner of his eye, than returned his attention to the match…would Arami….lose?

"Is there a chance of Arami losing this battle?" Zakin asked, staring intensely at the two ninja in the middle of the ring.

Harachi seemed to consider this for a moment.

"…It seems impossible to imagine such a thing, huh?" He responded after a minute, his eyes narrowing.

"But…when he gets all freaky like this…"

The blonde shuddered.

Itachi's initial surprise subsided, and he now simply glared back at the snarling Arami with indifference. He knew that the guy's chakra had just doubled, if not tripled, but at the moment the two weren't doing anything, and Itachi liked to get things done quick.

"If you won't attack, I wi-

He found himself thrown backwards, blinking at the ceiling. No way…had Arami just attacked him? Even _he _wasn't that fast…

He slammed into the wall, looked down at the ground for a moment, and than turned his gaze towards the seemingly possessed Arami.

"_**Shut up…I'll kill you!"**_

"Wait a minute…"

Hatake Kakashi took notice of the proctor's sudden unease, and glanced towards the ring. Indeed, there was something fishy about that kid…well, both of them, but the red-haired freak's chakra was disturbing, to say the least.

"What is it, Yuri?" He asked in the same, I-don't-really-care tone that he always spoke.

"Arami…Kasagi. Name ring any bells?"

Kakashi thought over the matter for a moment…he definitely couldn't remember ever hearing of the kid before, after pondering it for a moment. He shook his head, nonverbally a "no".

"He contains a demon within him…"

Kakashi was alert this time. A jinchuriki…?

"You don't mean…"

Yuri shook his head as Kakashi had a moment ago, answering his question. Kakashi sighed mentally…so the kid didn't possess the power of a biju. What made him so dangerous, then…? And this chakra…

"Arami Kasagi…Think back to some of your first missions as jounin, Kakasi." Yuri said, narrowing his eyes at the possessed, red-haired nin.

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"He's…"

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Tee hee, nice way to end a chapter, eh? I'll post the next soon. R&R!


	5. Author's Note

I'm so sorry! I haven't updated forever, and it's unfair to keep you guys and gals waiting, so please, PLEASE forgive me! throws himself upon the ground and weeps in shame

Anyways...the reason behind my recent inactiveness was vacation and (gulps) getting stuff ready for school.

As I am right now, I am completely exhausted from being stuffed within a hot, stuffy car for over 7 hours...the experience was mind-numbing because I had nothing to do, thus I simply sat, looked out the window, and let my brains fry for hours on end.

That's pretty much it. Patience! I shall try my hardest to get everything back up by tommorow! I haven't abandoned my fics!

-Sincereleh, KingKyuubi 


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